TAMARIKI A ATUA
Kids & Teens Magazine of MAORI POSTAL AOTEAROA Issue 2, Feb 2018
It’s a new year which brings with it new beginnings, new kura (school) for some, new opportunities, new goals, new hoa (friends). How exciting to be part of something new! God had a “new” too – He made a new creation, that included new hoa for Himself – everything was new! Let’s look at how perfect and beautiful God’s “new” was.
Who made us? Paipera Tapu, God’s Word, tells how the human race began. A long time ago, God made the very first tāne and named him Adam. God made Adam from the dust of the earth. When God breathed life into Adam, he came alive and lived in a beautiful kari (garden) called Eden. But before God made Adam, He made a beautiful ao (world) filled with wonderful things.
God made hills and valleys, fragrant putiputi (flowers) and buzzing pi (bees), tall rakau (trees) and feathered manu (birds), huge tohorā (whales) and ngongo (snails). In fact, God made everything there is – everything! And he made everything perfect, and beautiful – and that includes YOU!!
In the very beginning, before God made anything, there was nothing. So God created the heavens and the earth, but the earth was empty with no form and darkness was over the surface of the deep. God spoke “Let there be light”. God called the light ra (day) and the darkness po (night). There was evening and there was morning, and that was the first day. On the second day, God made the rangi (sky) and placed it between the waters that were on the face of the earth and the waters that were above the earth. This was also the creation of the atmosphere. God commanded the grass, putiputi, shrubs and rakau to appear, and they appeared. God made all of this new vegetation on the third day. God said “Let there be lights in the rangi” so God made the sun, the marama (moon), and so many whetu (stars) that nobody can count all of them. This was the fourth day. Sea creatures, ika (fish) and manu (birds) were the next new things on God’s list. On the fifth day He made big swordfish and tiny sardines, long legged ostriches and happy little humming birds. God made every kind of ika to fill earth’s waters, and manu to enjoy the land, sea and sky. God then commanded every kind of animal, insect and reptile to come into existence. He created earth-shaking elephants, wiggly worms, cheeky chipmunks and purring pussy cats. Every kind of animal was made by God on the sixth day. God made something else new on the sixth day – something very special. God saw that everything was good and now ready for tāne, so God said “Let us make tāne in our image. Let him be ruler over everything on earth.” SO GOD CREATED TANE IN HIS OWN IMAGE. IN THE IMAGE OF GOD HE CREATED HIM; MALE AND FEMALE HE CREATED THEM. Genesis 1:27
` made EVERYTHING in six God days. And God spoke to Adam and said “Eat whatever you choose from the garden, but do not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat from that tree, you will surely die.”
Adam and Eve were so happy in this beautiful garden. They had everything they ever needed. They were never sick or sad. They were never bad. But now things are not so beautiful anymore. There is sin and death in the world, and people do bad things. How did this happen? Why aren’t we living in the garden of Eden?
Satan disguised himself as a serpent and said to Eve “Did God really say you would die if you ate that special fruit? You will not die, instead you will be like God.” Eve saw how beautiful the fruit looked and even though she knew she shouldn’t touch the fruit, she believed Satan and took some of the special fruit and ate it. Then she gave some of the fruit to Adam, and he ate it too.
On the seventh day, God rested. In the garden of Eden, Adam and Eve (his wife) had perfect happiness obeying God. God was their Lord, their Provider and their Friend. In the evenings God would walk and talk with them in the garden.
God has an enemy – Satan, and Satan hates God. He wants everybody else to disobey and hate God too. Satan saw the beautiful garden that God had made. He also saw Adam and Eve, and knew that they were God’s most wonderful creation. So Satan said to himself “I am going to trick Adam and Eve so that they will disobey God. That will spoil God’s beautiful world.”
Now instead of having God in their hearts, they had sin in their hearts. And instead of being like God, they became sinners! Satan was glad because he wanted them to be sinners like him, but they were sad. It was a very sad day.
When God came to walk and talk with them in the evening, they hid from Him. They were afraid because they knew they had done wrong. Sin is a terrible thing. Because Adam and Eve sinned, they had to leave the beautiful garden God had created for them. They could no longer live there. When Adam and Eve had children, their children were born with sin in their hearts. And ever since that time, every person born has sin in his or her heart. That is why we do wrong things. The Bible says:
But God didn’t stop loving them because they disobeyed Him. He promised them that one day he would send a Saviour into the world. God knows we have done bad things, which He calls sin. God’s penalty for sin is death. But God loves us so very much that He sent His son, Jesus, to die on a cross and pay that penalty for us. Jesus died, came alive and went back to Heaven! Now God can forgive our sins without us having to pay a penalty. If you want to be forgiven for your sin and give your life to God, so you can enjoy the life God intended for you, say this to God: “Dear God. I believe Jesus died for me and now lives again. Please come into my life and forgive my sins, so I can have new life now and then be with you forever. Help me live for you as your child. Amen.”
ACROSS 2. God created the moon on this day. 4. The earth was this before creation. 5. God created these on the fifth day. 7. God created these on the third day. 9. The name of the garden that Adam and Eve lived in. 10. God created this on the first day. DOWN 1. The name of the man that God created. 3. God did this on the seventh day. 4. The name of the woman that God created. 6. God created the woman by taking this from the man. 8. God created land creatures on this day.
ANIMALS BEGINNING CREATION EARTH GARDEN GOD HEAVENS LIGHT MAN PLANTS SEA STARS
BullyIng & the BIble
Bullying : negative verbal or physical behaviour that is done (a) directly to a person or person’s property, (b) with the conscious intention of either upsetting the person or manipulating the person’s behaviour, (c) which God would not approve of. Today we are going to learn about three guys – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who were thrown into a hot furnace for not doing what the powerful king ordered because they knew it was wrong. Don’t be surprised at their weird names. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego have a lot in common with kids today who are often under total peer pressure to drink, do drugs, shoplift, become sexually active, lie to parents, cheat on tests, etc. You can feel like you’re under pressure if a friend says “do this, or nobody will like you …” or “why do you have to be such a goody good?” or “you’re so boring, nobody wants to hang out with you.” This manipulative pressure is a type of bullying. The king had ordered everyone to bow down and worship an idol. We live in a country where there are thousands of different beliefs so we may not understand fully just how awful this order was. It’s like being forced to cheat on a boyfriend or girlfriend when we feel seriously in love with that person. It’s like being forced to say horrible things about your mum or dad when you love them. Take those two things and multiply them by one hundred, and that’s how disgusted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego Felt because of the king’s order. So they refused.
You will find that when you stand up for what’s right, that you will be rewarded. In that huge kingdom where Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego were under such pressure to conform, there were probably more people that what there is living in Aotearoa. One hundred years afterwards, probably nobody remembered any of their names. But today, almost three thousand years later, every Christian in the world knows those three names – and they may be weird, but they are never forgotten! When God goes with you into your fiery furnace, you won’t burn up – you’ll come out as something better, more useful and indestructible, with rewards for eternity. However, it is scary and hard when we are being bullied, and you may have asked God for courage, but the bullying still persists. In this case it is really important to talk to your parents, a teacher or someone you trust about the situation. There are times when adults need to step into the situation to help out.
BullyIng & the BIble
Peer pressure is hard to deal with. Peer pressure becomes bullying when it comes with a threat that makes you feel endangered if you stand up for yourself. Bullies can take lunch money, scatter school books, throw things, say mean things to you, and the underlying threat is that if you try to do anything about it, they’ll make sure you feel even “more heat”. School, or anywhere there’s a large group of kids, can feel like our “fiery furnace” sometimes.
Biblical Record of “The Fiery Furnace”
1-3 King Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue, ninety feet high and nine feet thick.
He set it up on the Dura plain in the province of Babylon. He then ordered all the important leaders in the province, everybody who was anybody, to the dedication ceremony of the statue. They all came for the dedication, all the important people, and took their places before the statue that Nebuchadnezzar had erected. 4-6 A herald then proclaimed in a loud voice: “Attention, everyone! Every race, colour and creed, listen! When you hear the band strike up – all the trumpets and trombones, the tubas and baritones, the drums and cymbals – fall to your knees and worship the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up. Anyone who does not kneel and worship shall be thrown immediately into a roaring furnace.” 7 The band started to play, a huge band with all the musical instruments of Babylon, and everyone – every race, colour and creed – fell to their knees and worshipped the gold statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 8-12 Just then, some Babylonian fortune-tellers stepped up and accused the Jews. They said to King Nebuchadnezzar, “Long live the king! You gave strict orders, O king, that when the band started playing, everyone had to fall to their knees and worship the gold statue, and whoever did not go to their knees and worship it had to be thrown into a roaring furnace. Well, there are some Jews here – Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego – whom you have placed in high positions in the province of Babylon. These men are ignoring you, O king. They don’t respect your gods and they won’t worship the gold statue you set up.” 13-15 Furious, King Nebuchadnezzar ordered Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to be brought in. When the men were brought in, Nebuchadnezzar asked, “Is it true Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, that you do not respect my gods and refuse to worship the gold statue I have set up? I’m giving you a second chance – from now on when the band strikes up, you must go down on your knees and worship the statue I have made. If you don’t worship it, you will be thrown into a roaring furnace, no questions asked. Who is the god who can rescue you from my power?” 16-18 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego answered King Nebuchadnezzar, “Your threat means nothing to us. If you throw us into the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if He doesn’t, it wouldn’t make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn’t serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up.”
Daniel chapter 3 verses 1 to 30
19-23 Nebuchadnezzer, his face purple with anger, cut off Shadrach, Meshach
and Abednego. He ordered the furnace be fired up to seven times hotter than usual. He ordered some strong men from the army to tie them up – hands and feet, and then throw them into the roaring furnace. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, bound hand and foot and fully dressed from head to toe, were thrown into the roaring fire. Because the king was in such a hurry and the furnace was so hot, flames from the furnace killed the men who carried Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to it, while the fire raged around Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 24 Suddenly King Nebuchadnezzar jumped up in alarm and said, “Didn’t we throw three men, bound hand and foot, into the fire?” “That’s right, O king,” they said. 25 “But look!” He said. “I see four men walking around freely in the fire, completely unharmed! And the fourth man looks like a son of the gods!!” 26 Nebuchadnezzar went to the door of the roaring furnace and called out, “Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the most High God, come out!” Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego walked out of the fire. 27 All of the important people, the government leaders and the king’s counsellors, gathered around to examine them and discovered that the fire hadn’t touched the men – not a single hair on their head had been singed, not a scorch mark on their clothes, not even the smell of fire on them! 28 Nebuchadnezzar said, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego! He sent his angel and rescued his servants who trusted in Him! They ignored the king’s orders and laid their bodies on the line rather than serve or worship any other god but their own.” 29 “Therefore I order this decree : Anyone, anywhere, of any race, colour or creed, who says anything against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego will be ripped to pieces, limb from limb, and their houses torn down. There has never been a god who can pull off a rescue like this. 30 Then the king promoted Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the province of Babylon.
The Message Version
Ko au – Me, Myself & I
Donkeys don't dream. Well, not in an aspirational, "follow your dreams" way, at any rate. But Boaz is no normal donkey. Marching in a circle grinding grain is not Bo's vision of destiny fulfilled. No, Bo and his friend, Dave the dove, harbour royal aspirations: marching at the vanguard of the king's caravan. Bo breaks his bonds and flees his angry owner, but an injury to one hoof keeps him from fleeing far. He soon takes refuge in the courtyard of a young couple named Joseph and Mary. And the tender-hearted, miraculously pregnant young woman tends to Bo's hurt hoof. Meanwhile, a dazzling, mysterious star appeared in the heavens. That blazing object prompts three wise men and their camels - Deborah, Cyrus and Felix - to begin the long journey toward, well, actually, they don't know quite where. But they're convinced the celestial sign points to the birth of a king. Someone else has taken anxious notice of the star too: King Herod. It means something. But he's not sure what. The unexpected arrival of the three visitors from the East only amplifies his paranoia, especially when they carry on about bringing gifts for a king—a different king than Herod. Back in Nazareth, the birth of Mary’s baby is now fast approaching, but she and Joseph must take a long trip to Bethlehem for a census ordered by Herod. Little do they realise that their craven ruler has ordered a speechless, ogre-like henchman and his two fearsome dogs to track down the identity of this would-be king … and end his reign before it begins. Thankfully, Bo makes the perilous journey with them, fulfilling a bigger destiny than he could have guessed in his wildest donkey dreams.
Nā, ka kawea mai ki a ia ētahi tamariki nonohi, kia pā ai ia ki a rātou; otirā, ka rīria e ngā ākonga te hunga nāna i kawe mai. Nō te kitenge ia o Ihu, ka riri, ka mea ki a rātou, “Tukua ngā tamaraki nonohi kia haere mai ki ahau, kaua hoki rātou e āraia atu; nō ngā pēnei hoki te rangatiratanga o te Atua. He pono tāku e mea nei ki a koutou, kit e kāhore e rite te tango a tētahi i te rangatiratanga o te Atua ki tā te tamaiti nohinohi, e kore ia e tomo ki roto.” Makā 10:13-16
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